Of Meat Hearts and Sick Lions
by Cream of the Ice
Summary: Jade is left in charge of Beck after he's struck down with food poisoning. Jade being maternal? Beck never thought he'd see the day. First fanfic, so tell me what you think!
1. Chapter 1

Jade West was a lot of things, but understanding was not one of them. That's why she wasn't quite as patient with her boyfriend of three years, Beck Oliver, as she could've been. Beck, or at present, his mother.

"So, the doctor will be coming around nine-thirty. Until then, Beck is not allowed to leave his bed. Be sure that she gets his fluids up, and if you can, try and get him to eat something small. My cell number is on the fridge and in the RV, emergency contacts are in the little pink book on the kitchen counter..."

"Mrs. Oliver, everything's going to be fine!" Jade said in her most pleasant voice, which resembled a vague threat from the mob. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of Beck, I promise."

Ever oblivious, Mrs. Oliver smiled warmly and pinched Jade's cheek. "I know you are, sweetheart." She addressed jade as a doting nanny might address a pouting child. "I just can't tell you how much his father and I appreciate your help."

Jade smiled ever so sweetly at the outright lie, knowing full well how much Beck's family hated her.

"I've called the school and excused you both, oh, and there's chicken in the fridge if you get hungry. Thanks again, sweetie!" With that, Mrs. Oliver literally hopped into her annoyingly new car and sped down the driveway. Jade gave another sugary, false smile and a quick wave.

She waited until the woman was out of sight to roll her eyes. Why is was so hard for grown women to be honest, she would never know.

She sighed, deciding it would just waste more of her time to ask. "You're welcome... Botox-Barbie..."

With that, she slid open the RV door and walked inside. The first thing she noticed was the large, miserable-looking mound on the bed, shuddering under a cocoon of blankets.

Jade felt something tug at her stomach. Sympathy? Maybe. It was a new feeling, and not a very welcome one.

As silently as she could, she strode over and tapped the lump on what she assumed was it's shoulder. The blanket mountain shifted, and Beck turned to face her.

"Hey..." He whispered, wincing at the fingers of light filtering from a nearby lamp. Jade smiled softly down at him, placing her hand on his neck as she struggled to prop himself up on his elbows.

She immediately wanted to beat down Festus with a frying pan when she got a good look at Beck. His hair stuck up in certain angles from sweat, and his skin had a terrible sea-green tint to it. His eyes were rimmed with dark circles. she had to crack a smile at his hair, like a black mane. It made him look like a very ill lion.

"And what have we learned from all this?"

"When Jade says to not eat something from the Grub Truck, don't eat it anyway."

Jade gave him a sarcastic approving look and pulled some of the feathered bangs from his clammy forehead. "My mom put you in charge of me?"

"Yep." Jade clicked on the TV, setting it to low volume. "Hand me a blanket."

Jade checked her watch: 9:00. She pulled off her own black sweater and threw it aside, then crawled under the covers with Beck, her bra brushing up against his heated skin.

One thing Jade knew about Beck: he got clingy when he was sick; so it wasn't much of a shock to her when he pressed his head into her collarbone.

For a while, they watched a documentary on lions. Jade would laugh and applaud when the lioness would attack an gazelle. After a while, she felt Beck relax, then noticed his heavy breathing.

Jade clicked the bedside lamp off, only for her phone to go off in her pocket. Vega was trying to chat with her. "Stupid video chat..."

She clicked 'accept', knowing Vega would keep trying if she refused. Tori was just stupid like that sometimes.

All of Sikowitz's class stood behind Tori, all smiling annoying smiles back at her. She noticed a few raised eyebrows and smirks when they got a good look at her arms wrapped around Beck, her wearing only a bra.

"What do you idiots want?" Jade hissed, a little more forceful then needed.

"We knew Beck was sick, and we wanted to surprise you guys." Tori smiled back at them, and Jade wanted nothing more than to punch those prized cheekbones of hers. She settled for a roll of her eyes, but Beck smiled warmly.

"Thanks..." Both of them whispered together, with sharply contrasting inflictions.

"We even have a surprise for you guys!" Cat giggled, before diving out of sight.

Jade looked over at Beck, and she saw a shadow of discomfort pass over his pale face. He leaned forward a little, placing a hand on his stomach. It gurgled angrily at him, causing Jade to raise an eyebrow.

Jade was about to address this, when Cat re-entered the frame holding a large plate of skewered meat. Beck's face began to change color. Jade's eyes widened. Oh no... Dear _God_, no...

"Cat, put those awa-" Jade started, but she was cut off by Robbie.

"Don't worry, we're gonna wait until you and Beck get back to school before we eat them. But I was really excited for you to see them."

The meat was cut into little hearts, and each was skewered perfectly with a little fake thermometer. "Each one is made with ground beef and my brother's special cheese sauce and... Beck?"

The classroom gasped collectively as Beck turned his head to the side and lost what little was left in his gut.

There were a few moans of disgust from the classroom, some of the Shuggers turned away from the scene, a loud thump told them that Sinjin had just fainted. Cat immediately shoved the meat hearts out of sight, embarrassed.

"I knew I should've made cookies..."

"Maybe we should call back later. Feel better..."And with that, Vega ending the chat session.

Beck wiped him mouth with the back of his hand, then lifted his face up from the mess he'd made. Jade stood up carefully, trying hard not to retch herself from the smell. Rust-green fluid hung in her hair, dripping down her shoulder.

"S-sorry..."' Jade raised her head to look at him. He was a mess, vomit rolled down his chin, it was probably the saddest thing Jade had ever seen. His eyebrows were knitted together in embarrassment, tears stinging his eyes. Alright, it _was_ the saddest thing she'd ever seen.

"Go lie down on the couch, I'll clean... this up." She said, gesturing to the ruined pile of blankets. "Go on..." She kept her voice low, calming, fighting her own rising nausea. The smell was overpowering.

She rubbed her forehead, she'd trade her right kidney for the ability to get mad at him like she always does.

"This blanket washable?" Jade held up a soiled quilt to Beck.

"No, that things almost sixty years old. My grandmother-"

"Okay." Jade kicked open the door and tossed it in the driveway.

"Or, just do that." Beck laid back down on the couch, sighing softly. He grabbed a tissue and wiped his mouth off. Jade began tossing blankets away.

They waited in silence for a while, Beck would occasionally bury his head in the bucket Jade had found in the house, then wrinkle his nose when she simply tossed the contents out the door onto the driveway.

"I hit the quilt again..." Jade called over a rather gross splashing sound.

"It's fine, its just my moms most prized possession, after all."

Jade was about to respond, when an annoyingly yellow Lexus pulled into Beck's driveway. Jade had to raise an eyebrow when the doctor came out. She always thought doctors were supposed to practice what they preached about physical fitness, and this one obviously did. She couldn't have been older than twenty-five, but she looked like a supermodel in a white coat.

She removed her medical bag from the backseat, waving a pudgy hand at Jade.

"Why, hello there!" she called out. Jade had to stifle a laugh of ridicule at her Swedish accent. "Who are you?"

"His girlfriend."

"Ooh, and you're so pretty!" She quickly elbowed past her into the RV. "Not dark and depressing at all!"

"Shut up." Jade narrowed her eyes in anger. Doctor Plastic looked scandalized.

She watched as the doctors annoyingly long legs carried her over to the couch.

"You must be Beck!" Something in Jade's neck twanged when her voice took on a friendly, almost flirty tone.

Beck raised an eyebrow, he was pretty sure he didn't look good. "Yeah. Hi, Dr. Feinstein."

"Oh, please, call me Olivia!" She reached for her bag. "Now, what seems to be the problem?"

"I'm sorry, did you somehow not see the piles of vomit in the driveway?" Jade gestured to the driveway.

"Oh, that's nice, dear." Olivia called over to her as she peered into Beck's throat with a scope of some kind.

Jade clenched her fist hard when Barbie reached into her medical bag. "Okay, lay back."

Beck did as he was told. Jade was pretty sure her knuckles turned white when Olivia lifted Beck's shirt. She began pressing down on his stomach in various places.

"Are you in any pain?" Beck nodded, wrapping his arms around his abdomen. _I swear if you touch him again, lady..._

"Well, hold still a moment." Olivia placed her stethoscope on his stomach, listening intently. Jade didn't really understand the point in that, his stomach was loud enough for her to hear from across the room. _Woman, I'll kill you..._

"Just a simple case of food poisoning."_ I could've told you that._

She listed how long it would go on, what to avoid for the next few days. Jade turned her attention back to the television. She watched a lioness' stalk a gazelle, teeth bared ferociously.

"You know, I think a stomach massage might help."

Beck's eyes got wide, Jade's head whirled around. Beck knew what was happening, the lioness was about to rip the gazelle apart.

"No way." Jade stood up, facing the woman. "No. Freaking. Way!"

Olivia backed up, slowly inching toward the door. Jade backed her all the way.

"What's your problem?"

"M...my problem? My PROBLEM!? You try to run you hands all over my boyfriend and you ask me what my problem is? I SHOULD GUT YOU RIGHT HERE!"

"Okay... okay, I'm going." The gazelle switched to defense mode.

"If you ever come near my boyfriend again, I swear I will mess you up so bad, they'll put you next to a question mark in a medical journal."

And with that, Jade slammed the door in the woman's face, a small shriek of disgust told them that she'd fallen in...well, something.

Jade strode over to Beck, who shot her an amused look. "I guess someone got too close to the lioness' pride."

"Yeah... I guess so." Jade ran her fingers through Beck's hair. She smirked down at him. "If you ever look at another like that again, I'll rip your mane out."

"You're sexy when you're territorial." Beck smiled up at her.

Jade shot him a small smile in return, Beck raised his eyebrows playfully at her, only to scrunch them back down when his intestines let loose another long, intoning roar. He dove out of sight, just in time for the next wave of sick to make its appearance at her feet.

"Thanks, babe." Jade deadpanned, resting her hand on his forehead. "You sure can a girl feel sexy."


	2. Chapter 2

It was around 10:00 when he woke up again, and he noted that his bed smelled strongly of disinfectant. Jade sat outside, cleaning her boot's off with his dad's screwdriver.

He tried to hoist himself up, but a quick, watery roar in the pit of his belly pulled him back down. He looked down at his stomach and huffed.

"Yeah, yeah. I get it, your mad at me."

"Grrrrooooo..." It answered back.

"Oh, shut up." He rolled his eyes.

The door opened, Beck looked up.

"You owe me new boots." Jade strode in, now barefoot. "Here. Your mom said to have you eat something."

"You made me soup?"

"Don't tell anyone." She deadpanned and extended the bowl.

"I won't." He took the bowl and set it on the table. "I'll eat it later, I don't know if my stomach can handle company right now." Jade rolled her eyes and gave him an affectionate swat on the shoulder.

"You are such a baby when your sick." She chided, slinking under the covers again. "If you throw up on me again, I'm breaking up with you."

"I bet Olivia wouldn't have cared if I threw up on her." Beck whispered in her ear, earning him a kick in the foot.

"Don't even go there." Jade warned, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "Seriously, don't puke on me again."

"No promises..." He deadpanned over the silent stirring in his gut. His eyes moved over to the bucket on the nightstand. ("Make this one last, I'm not cleaning another one.") he grimaced when he remembered the condition of his now-multicolored driveway. He mom would have a stroke, and Jade probably take pictures.

"Woah, I think, like, nine generations of flys have been born on that quilt." Jade laughed at the swarm of mindless insects swarming everywhere. "Your vomit is like a breeding ground."

"That's not disgusting at all, babe." Beck clicked the television back on, another film on lions. The male was lying in the ground, his mate was pushing a mutilated zebra leg toward him with her nose.

"The lionesses in the pride stay with the male for life, it is very rare for them to switch loyalties." Beck raised his eyes playfully at Jade.

"But, it isn't uncommon for an oppressed lioness to revolt." The lioness on the T.V. sunk her teeth into the male's neck, causing it to roar in pain. Jade shot him a self-impressed look.

Beck gulped and fumbled for the remote, ensuring his neck was covered as he did so.

For a while, they watched sitcoms. Jade would chuckle darkly whenever a character would cry over something. Beck slowly began to coax the still-warm soup down his throat, his stomach gurgling in protest every now and again.

"You'd think this show would at least get a decent series finale." Jade mumbled as she watched one fade to black. This last scene was a girl dressed as a carrot chasing away a child dressed as a bunny. "Not much of an ending."

"Maybe not." Beck pressed his head into the crook of Jade's neck, hoping his stomach stayed in place this time. He heard her make a small noise of disapproval, then she began digging around in his nightstand drawer. "Hold still."

Withdrawing his favorite hairbrush, Jade began a futile attempt to bring his hair back into line. "I'm getting sick of this mane of yours, Mr. Loin."

Beck chuckled and gave a small, sarcastic "roar." Jade pushed him back to sitting position, scowling at her handiwork. His hair resembled its original form, but it still lacked its usual sheen. His skin was still washed-out, and he looked slightly green.

"You look terrible." Said Jade, matter-of-factly.

"Thanks." Beck huffed, placing both hands on his stomach as another pang hit him. His stomach whined at him unpleasantly.

"Babe, your guts sound like dying cat." Jade smiled a creepy smile, like she was enjoying his pain.

"Jadey?" Beck gave her e most pitiful expression he could muster.

"Never call me that."

"Ok... Can get that massage now?" He batted his eyes in a winning way.

"When did I say I'd massage your puke factory?" She gave his stomach a gentle prod with her nail.

"Olivia said she would..." Beck knew he was stepping over the line with that one, but after being locked in his RV all day he was getting a little stir crazy. Jade roved her eyes to Beck slowly, and he was sure that he would be like that poor lion on the T.V. in a minute.

Jade blinked twice, pondering, then began to pull of his shirt. "Lie back."

Beck looked at her confusedly. "Now!" she barked at him.

Beck did as he was told, and Jade, groaning in complain, began placing light pressure on his abdomen with her hands. She ran up, down, right and left, the same way Beck would when she wasn't feeling well.

"I swear, I'm too good to you." She huffed, tracing circles around his abdomen with her thumb.

Beck closed his eyes, her hands were cool against the heated skin and the pressure really helped work out the tension. He closed his eyes.

"Oh no, your going to stay awake until I'm done." Jade spat at him. "Then your going to thank me."

"Alright." Beck whispered.

"That's all I'm doing." She tossed him his shirt. "You owe me." She added childishly. Beck smiled up at her.

"What?" She noticed the smile.

"Thanks for taking care of me today."

"Don't get used to it." She smiled back at him. Beck pulled his shirt back on and curled up next to her. He adjusted himself a few times to suit his stomach, each time earning a small glare from Jade for disturbing her. After a few moments, his eyes fluttered shut. His breathing became slow and methodical.

Jade turned her attention back to the television, and she saw the lion and his lioness asleep in a bed of reeds, curled up identically to her she and Beck were.

Jade looked around and ensured nobody was looking, then gently planted a kiss on his scalp. Beck smiled groggily at her.

"I love you." Beck whispered sleepily.

Jade leaned back, adjusting herself to how the lioness looked. She was pleasantly surprised when she found out how comfortable it was. She wrapped her arms around Beck's shoulders.

"I know."


End file.
